Creative Commons licenses have been adopted worldwide, with estimates of over 130 million works licensed. However, infrastructure and adoption is uneven globally. In 2008, some regions like Africa and the Middle East lacked funding and resources for Creative Commons projects. By 2013, Creative Commons saw truly global infrastructure with all regions participating. Norms shifted to favor openness, and Creative Commons influenced copyright policy debates internationally. The author predicts continued growth in open education and medical innovation by 2018 due to thriving commons.

1. Introduction to the Commons 2 2008-07-31 Sapporo Creative Commons Around the World Mike Linksvayer VP, Creative Commons Photo by BotheredByBees · Licensed under CC Attribution 2.0 · http://flickr.com/photos/botheredbybees/2102349206/

2. Creative Commons Around the World 2008

4. Source: http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2007/ocw-tt1128.html

8. Uneven global adoption

9. Google Trends: visitors to creativecommons.org

10. Google Trends: searches for “creative commons”

12. Creative Commons Around the World 2013